Articles

Author: Daniel Crooke
Location: Ohio

"Articles"

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay by David Magee
Score by John Williams

Principal Cast:

Sir Ian McKellen as Abraham Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman as John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Viggo Mortensen as John Wilkes Booth
Owen Wilson as Lee Harvey Oswald
Edward Norton as Thomas Adams
Mel Gibson as Francis Lightfoot Lee
Johnny Depp as John Penn
James Gandolfini as Daniel Carroll
Steve Buscemi as William Clingan
Kate Winslet as Dorothy Quinn
Joaquin Phoenix as James Harrison
Nicholas Cage as Michael Spurlock

Tagline: "Unearth the original American terrorist"

Synopsis: Historians have been puzzled for ages in the many strange coincidences between the assassinations of two of America's most beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. The many coincidences' history goes back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The truth between these two assassinations, and many other attempts of assassination on many of America's former presidents would shatter the history of America. The "Loyalist Confederates" were formed right before the Declaration was signed. This group of Americans did not believe in many of the new values that the Declaration followed. In fact, these groups of men were a few of the men to sign the Articles of Confederation, and one woman. Hidden throughout American History, five men and one woman vowed to change America back to the way they thought fit. These men and women were Thomas Adams, Francis Lightfoot Lee, John Penn, Daniel Carroll, William Clingan, and Dorothy Quincy (the wife of John Hancock). These men and women were dedicated to letting America know that their leaders were not safe and they were determined to exterminating America's leaders. With four successful assassinations and eight attempts, the Loyalist Confederates throughout the years made allies with people all over the world to let America know that they wanted America back to its original rules. "Articles" mainly focuses on the strange similarities between the assassinations of Lincoln and JFK. The film parallels between the two's lives and a few flashbacks to reveal the secrets of the society. The other parallel is used in the case of a modern historian, who is trying to track down the society and its secrets, seeing as his ancestors years ago, started the organization, and his father is currently a member. With the help of another historian, James Harrison and Michael Spurlock go out to discover America's best-kept secret. In history, JFK and Lincoln also discover about the society, exactly ten hours before their deaths. Thus explaining why Lincoln told his attendant to leave him at the theatre, Lincoln wanted to die for his country. In JFK's case, his death he did nothing to stop it. Revealed at the end, is that Lee Harvey Oswald was completely innocent. When finally finding the group, Harrison and Spurlock discover that there will be another attempt on a former president's life. The two of them unravel the mysteries and coincidences with the original American terrorists, the Loyalist Confederates.

What the press would say:

Scorsese's film, "The Articles" is the great American historical thriller. It plays to all of our emotions as Joaquin Phoenix's James Harrison says the "Confederate Loyalists" are "the original American terrorists". The controversy surrounding this film by the White House and Washington is all not needed, seeing as the film is not at all true. Many critics have said that it is similar to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". I agree. But I also say that "The Articles" is what the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code" could have been. This film has more depth, more background, more thrills, and more story than Ron Howard's film adaptation of Brown's novel. This film is so well made on so many different levels. The cast is great as a little over three fourths of them play historical figures, while Joaquin Phoenix and Nicholas Cage play their original parts very well. The reason I like this film so much is the fact that it is an adventure and political thriller, but it is still one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. One of the causes for that opinion is the genius in the screenplay, by David Magee, who wrote "Finding Neverland". Another is the great acting and directing. After years of being snubbed of his Oscar, Martin Scorsese will most likely win this year's highest honors for directing. The film is a surprising, but definite lock for one of this year's Best Picture slots. I cannot get over how brilliantly weaved the story line is and how great the acting is. The three standouts are Sir Ian McKellen as Abraham Lincoln, Philip Seymour Hoffman as JFK, a surprisingly good Owen Wilson as Lee Harvey Oswald and especially Kate Winslet as Dorothy Quincy. The reason Winslet is so good is that she plays to perfection, the sneaking wife of one of America's greatest patriots, John Hancock. The story is, of course, all fiction and has no evidence (and intended to be like that) for the reasons that are based around the entire film and there has never been a group of individuals named the "Loyalist Confederates". But in the three hours you are in the theatre, you believe that there was.

Nominations

Best Picture
Best Director- Martin Scorsese
Best Actor- Sir Ian McKellen
Best Actor- Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best Supporting Actor- Owen Wilson
Best Supporting Actress- Kate Winslet
Best Original Screenplay- David Magee
Best Film Editing
Best Score / Costumes / Make Up